The Heart Of Life
by sleep on stars
Summary: Sticking her head out the passenger seat window, she screamed as loud as her lungs would let her. Her eyes smiling behind her black Ray Bans. “I can’t believe we’re doing this!” She was leaving, she was finally getting out.
1. One

**So, "The Heart of Life" is officially my baby. I'm writing every second of the day. And that's impressive since I'm in Disney World right now, I just came back from night swimming with my best friend and the arcade. I love vacation, don't you? Anyways, I've already got chapters two and three written. But, I won't be posting them until I have a few more chapters written because I wanna write this series slowly, at my own pace. I really hope you guys enjoy this! And by the way, I'm sorry to say this is a Miley/Liam series. The plot of the story just doesn't feel Niley to me, it's more Liam. And even though I lovelovelove Niley and forever will, I like Liam too. Hope you like it!**

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_I don't know if you noticed anything different_  
_It's getting dark and it's getting cold and the nights are getting long_  
_I don't know if you even noticed at all_

You shoot for the stars. You put all your faith into that one shot, hoping, praying your arrow will grab onto one of them. Then you could escape life and sleep on those stars, looking down on everyone and everything from above. That'd be nice, to sleep on those stars.

But, you can't sleep forever, sooner or later, you have to wake up.

"Take me with you!" she screamed through her tears while grasping onto his suitcase, "Don't leave me here! I need you, I can't-I can't survive here alone!"

Ignoring her, her father continued to drag her along with the rest of his luggage, making his way to the car. "No, no, don't do this!"

She shook furiously, as her mother stood in the doorway, looking on through tears. "Don't leave me with her! She's ruined everything for us, _everything_! Do you not understand!?"

Not saying a word, her father ripped the suitcase from her hands and threw it into his trunk, the slamming of it, following. He slowly turned to look at his broken daughter, "You'll be happy here…" he paused, "I promise."

The rest of the memory is a blur to her, at some point he drove away, she fell to the pavement and her mother came and brought her to bed where she stayed for the next three days. Her brother and mother attempted to talk to her, but she didn't answer, she didn't want anything to do with them, this town, or her friends. She just wished to get away, escape like her father had somehow managed to do.

Six months later and she was still just as miserable. This town, the way it constricted everyone, how every little person knew each other, it killed her. It was scratching at her heart, making it bleed till there was nothing left; she was almost completely drained. School was the same every day; sit, learn, eat, jumping jacks, take notes, follow directions, don't talk back, hand this in on time or else. You want to go to college? Oh, is that what you want? Well, if you're a dreamer, then why don't you go to the community college just around the block, where people who really want to be something go. Like … to be a pharmacist or teacher. Yeah, a pharmacist … what a great thing to wish to be, so exciting.

Since she was six, Miley had wanted more; to be famous, to be known, to know what success felt like. Her mother had detected this and made sure to steer her clear away from the career of being a singer, actress, designer, anything that involved her leaving this town. And so, her mother had Miley participate in girl scouts, the school's newspaper, softball, soccer, track, anything to keep her preoccupied. But, ever since her mom had gotten her that laptop on her fifteenth birthday, she had been looking at schools elsewhere, far, far away from this hell hole of a town.

Atlantic Beach, South Carolina. She hated this place, barely over 400 people living here. Could you imagine? 400 people. That means that about half of those people go to her school and she's surrounded by them every waking day. God, why couldn't her father have taken her with him? It was because of her damn mother. She had to threaten him with kidnapping if he took either her or her brother, Eli.

Eli was her only escape, he was a dreamer too. They were they're fathers child; they didn't resemble their mother at all. She was the realist, always looking at the practical route.

Sighing, Miley tossed and turned in her bed a few times until she found a comfortable position. Looking around her room, she stared at the white, blank walls. She considered herself undecided. Her walls were blank because she didn't know what she wanted, but she did know that she wanted a clean slate.

"Miley Ray! Austin will be here in ten minutes! You better be in there making yourself pretty!"

Grabbing her pillow, Miley gripped it tight and chucked it at the door and then screamed, "While I do that, why don't you get a doctor to look at that stick shoved up your ass!"

Letting out a deep sigh, Miley tossed her comforter aside and then threw her legs over the side of the bed, letting them hit the cold, hardwood floor.

Dragging her feet on the way, she walked to her dresser, grabbed a pair of faded, ripped jeans, a white tank top and a light blue cardigan. "Eight minutes!" her mother called from the kitchen. She was so anal about Miley and Austin's relationship.

Austin, her boyfriend of two years now, came from a family of money and Miley's mother claimed that they were going to get married, buy the big old country house right around that block that everyone admires but no one can afford and live happily ever after in little old Atlantic Beach.

Running a brush through her long locks, Miley pictured what could go up on her walls; pictures of friends, a collage of her favorite bands, shelves of her soccer and softball trophies…

However, the beep of a horn and the knocking on her door interrupted her day dreaming. "You're boyfriend's here" Eli snickered as he casually walked into her room and collapsed on her bed with a bag of pretzels. "What are your plans for the night?" Miley asked while quickly applying a little extra mascara.

Eli shrugged his shoulders as he flipped his chestnut hair out of his face. "Maybe go to the diner with Audrey and Kate; maybe see what's playing at the movies."

She rolled her eyes as she quickly threw her mascara, phone and license into her clutch and then turned to him, "You know what's playing … the same thing that's been playing for the past month, I wish Steve would change the damn thing."

Making her way over to her brother, she kissed him on the forehead, grabbed a pretzel from his bag and then waved him goodbye, "See you in a couple hours."

Eli made kissing noises as she walked out of the room, "Hope you have fun with the douche!" And in response, Miley flipped him off as she walked down the hallway towards the foyer.

Waiting on the couch, sat her boyfriend Austin. Shining blue eyes, short, baby blonde tossed locks and tan, smooth skin, he was a sight to see. "Baby girl, what took you so long?" her mom smiled as she stood up from the chair she had been sitting in across from Austin. "Just getting ready mama" she smiled back, trying to hold back the venom she wanted so badly to inflict on the woman.

"Hey Austin" she smiled politely as she walked up to him and kissed him on the cheek sweetly. Smiling brightly, he put his hand on her waist and half-hugged her. "It feels like I haven't seen you in forever" he laughed.

Miley rolled her eyes; "I saw you this morning when we went to the diner…" she played along with him, throwing in a laugh to convince him that she wasn't pissed about his hovering.

"I know" he smiled wider, "I just miss you, that's all."

Feeling too watched, Miley turned her head to look at her mother, "We'll be back later" she said as she took Austin's smooth hand and led him toward the foyer. Her mom followed them out, "Don't worry baby, you're 16, I trust you out there with Austin" she smiled.

Was that supposed to trigger something inside of her? Like … was she supposed to now run up to her mom, hug her, kiss her cheeks, and tell her how much she appreciated she trusted her and how much she loved her? Fuck that. Her mother could go fall off a bridge for all she cared, not after what she did to this family.

They stepped out the door and into the twilight. It was that time of day when the sun was lowering and it left a light glow to warm your heart. Kids on her block were currently forming at the McKenzie's getting ready for their Friday night game of man hunt. All the little middle schoolers looked forward to it. That used to be her, until she finally realized, there was more to a Friday night than man hunt, much, much more.

No one knew it, not Austin, not Eli, not her best friend Camille, and _especially_ not her mom, but sometimes on the weekends she drove into the city and went to some of the clubs there. She met new people, got to dance, and it was a tiny escape. She always felt like that's where she belonged… in the rush of the city where people her age could express themselves anyway they wanted to.

"Babe, you listening?" Austin's voice finally tuned into her senses. "Hmm?" she looked over from the window which she had her hand out of and realized that she was in Austin's car. "Oh sorry" she blushed, "must have spaced out."

"I'll say" he knitted his eyebrows together as he stared straight ahead, watching the road. Pedestrians walked the province freely. Families were out getting ice cream, catching a "movie" (the _only_ movie), teenagers played frisbee on the green, and even some of the elderly were taking an evening stroll.

"You ok?" Austin butt into her daydreaming once again, "For the past month you've seemed kind of … off."

And there was reason for that. For the past month she'd been waiting for a letter. God, where was that letter? She just wanted to crawl into bed right this moment so it would be tomorrow and she could look for that letter just as she did every morning.

"Miley!" Austin stopped the car at the side of the road and turned to look at her, "What is _up_ with you? It's like half the time you're not even listening to me!" he sighed, shaking his head as he tried to connect their eyes. But, she kept staring straight ahead, at the restaurant that was 30 feet away. Couldn't he of just pulled into the parking lot at least? It's only so far away…

Austin leant his head back on the head rest and grunted, "Unbelievable… you aren't even listening now."

"I am listening" she cut in and turned to look at him, "And I'm fine, I have been fine for the past month and will continue to be fine" she stared into his cool blue eyes.

"Are you telling the truth?" Austin eyed her.

"Pinky swear" Miley offered a smile and her pinky to the boy.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Austin wrapped his pinky around hers and then kissed it, "Pinky swear."

She was lying to him, she knew. Guess she really didn't care if pinky swears were legit. She just wanted to get through another day with him.


	2. Two

_Open me up and you will see_  
_I'm a gallery of broken hearts_  
_I'm beyond repair, let me be_  
_And give me back my broken parts_

"Wesley, I don't _care_ if you want Christmas, you already have Thanksgiving and I don't think the kids really want to travel all the way to California. It's so unnecessary, couldn't you just come here?"

Miley's mother, Keira, was on the phone with her ex-husband, Wesley. Miley pressed her ear further up against the door of her mother's bedroom door.

"I don't understand why you hate it here. Orange County's so noisy and just as small as Atlantic Beach… What do you mean it isn't? I googled the population last night!" Pause. "Yes I use Google. God Wesley, I'm 32, not 50."

Her parents had her when they were 16 and 17. It's hard to imagine her mom being her age when she had her. Miley couldn't even imagine herself being pregnant at the moment. How stupid could you be to do something like that? And as if one baby at 16 wasn't enough, just to prove to the world _how_ idiotic they were, they had Eli at 18 and 19. Guess they couldn't keep their hands off each other at the time.

Now they couldn't even be in the same room as each other.

"Wes, why won't you come back to this town? The kids … they want you here." Keira paused, "I want you here."

Miley pulled her ear away from the door, disgusted with her mother. If she had wanted her dad living here with the family so badly then she shouldn't have cheated on him six months ago with her co-worker. Then they wouldn't be in this mess.

Sometimes Miley wondered why love died. Why it was there one second and the next …

Keira's door opened abruptly and pulled Miley out of her thoughts, "Oh, Miley!" Keira inhaled quickly, obviously surprised. "What are you doing out in the hall?"

"I was just going to get the mail" Miley lied on instinct.

Keira's facial expressions softened, "were you listening in on me and your father's call?" she asked gently, extending her arm to comfort her daughter. Miley quickly jerked away, "No mom, I'm just getting the mail." Keira slowly pulled her arm away and set it by her side, "Oh, well … could you check to see if my subscription to Pottery Barn came in yet? I've been thinking about getting new curtains for the living room."

"Sure thing" Miley smiled forcefully as she turned and continued down the hall. Once out in the driveway, she kicked off her flip flops and then sprinted to the mail box. Opening the lid, she pulled out the stack of mail and quickly shuffled through. Only to be interrupted by her next door neighbor, Mrs. Cleveland.

"Miley dear!" she called from over the fence. She had gardening gloves and a sun hat on, meaning she was tending to her tulips and sun flowers once again. Just like she did every 4 days of the week.

"Hi Mrs. Cleveland!" she responded, waving with the hand full of mail, hopefully getting the message across that she was in the middle of something. "Will you and Austin be attending the Senior Prom this school year?"

If she could punch anyone at this moment in time, it would be Mrs. Cleveland. You know when you're really annoyed and someone walks into your day knowing just the right thing to say to tick you off? Well, Mrs. Cleveland was that person in this equation.

"I don't know Mrs. Cleveland!" Miley called back, "It's just the beginning of August, we have a month left before school starts and about nine months till prom!"

Boy, she wanted to hit that woman.

"Well, Julia's looking for a date so if you're not taking Austin …" she trailed off.

Are you fucking serious? This lady had some nerve.

Miley quickly stuck the mail under her armpit and walked over to the fence with a pleasant smile on her face. "You know Mrs. Cleveland, you're right; Julia might steal Austin away from me…" she joked.

Mrs. Cleveland let out a little laugh, as she leaned against the fence, "Well, Julia's probably going to be head cheerleader next year and she's been eyeing Austin for a while now. Better keep a handle on him" she teased.

Miley looked at the woman in disbelief, then regained composure and shot her a sickeningly sweet smile, "Oh dear, what shall I do, what shall I do…" Miley tapped her index finger against her chin, "Guess Austin was lying when he said he loved that sex last night and didn't want anyone else to lay next to him naked…"

Mrs. Cleveland stared at Miley, shocked and disgusted. "I-I…" she stuttered.

"But, I could be wrong, Julia's known to have lied next to plenty of boys naked… maybe Austin will be next. And heck, hopefully she'll get a twofer and it'll be at prom!"

Not even waiting for a response, Miley turned on her heel and walked across the grass, back to her house. Only to hear her neighbor's door swing open and a loud, "Julia Rose Cleveland!" ring through the air.

Smiling to herself, Miley walked through her front door and stopped in the middle of the foyer to shuffle through the mail quickly.

Bills, bills, her mother's Pottery Barn subscription, bills, her Seventeen magazine that she had secretly subscribed to at the start of the summer and …

There it was, the letter.

She couldn't breathe … so she ran. She ran through the foyer, down the hallway, into the kitchen to give her mother her magazine, past the living room, down the hallway and finally into her room. She slammed and locked the door as quickly as she could.

And then finally, she took a breath.

And then another and another.

She threw the rest of the mail on her bed and focused in on the letter. Turning it over and over again in her hands, she examined it. It was thick, which was supposedly a good sign. God, she wanted to open it. But, at the same time, it scared the hell out of her. Her life depended on one word. It was a 50/50 chance if she got in or not. Oh, please lord, let her of gotten in. She needed to escape this town.

Tearing open the letter, she pulled out the first sheet of paper with closed eyes.

Sucking in a deep breath, she counted to three.

One … two … two and a half … two and a third … two and … for the love of God Miley, pull your shit together.

Three!

She opened her eyes and froze; she stayed frozen for over a minute. Then finally, she screamed, as loud as she could.

_Accepted_.

She just couldn't, she just couldn't believe… even her mind was out of breath! Happy fucking day, she got in!

"Miley! What's wrong!? What's going on?" Her mother sloppily unlocked the door with her key. What was the point of a lock to your room … when your mom had the key? Honestly.

"I-I…" she stuttered, out of breath. She couldn't even think straight she was on such a high. "What's in your hand?" her mother asked forwardly.

"Please don't be mad…"

* * *

"No."

"Mom…"

"No! How many times do I have to say it before I get it across your mind!? You are not going to California to some … boarding school!" her mother exclaimed, her limbs flying around uncontrollably, she couldn't sit still. She sat down then stood up each time she finished a sentence.

"I'll be living with Dad!" Miley explained, "I won't actually be living on campus like other students. He'll be able to look after me and … it'll be a great experience!" Miley tried to insist. She knew her mom didn't give a damn about experiences. All she cared about was her future.

And her future was with Austin in that beautiful house down the road, living as a housewife.

Fuck that.

"I'm not letting you" Keira shook her head, "You're not leaving safe South Carolina to go to a party state where all they'll do is pollute your mind." Miley rolled her eyes, "Mom … honestly, a party state? California is a state just as every other state. They have libraries, diners and restaurants, gas stations, an ocean, and occasionally, yes a party or two, but what teenagers in any state don't go to parties?" Miley suggested.

Keira eyed her, "What parties have you been to?"

Miley mentally cursed, her mom could never find out about her going into the city. "I mean … the birthday parties Austin and I go to" she covered.

"I just … I just can't sign those forms, Miley. I'm sorry" she shook her head.

Miley stared at her mother blankly. No, she was going. Her mother might think she had just decided for her daughter, but Miley made her own decisions.

And she was going to California, whether her mother liked it or not.


	3. Three

_On the stereo _  
_Listen as we go _  
_Nothing's gonna stop me now _  
_California, here we come _

"You're mom said no, Miles, I mean, what are you going to do?" Camille asked her best friend as she sat on her bed and watched Miley scoop up piles of shirts and jeans from her dresser and throw them into her duffle bag. "I mean, I'd love to go to California with you and work at Elle magazine's headquarters, don't get me wrong, but where would I even live?" Miley rolled her eyes as she lifted herself from the wooden floor and dusted off her ripped jeans. Turning around she grabbed a suitcase out of her closet, set it on the floor and then took a drawer out of its slot in her dresser and dumped all of its contents into it. She then did the same with the remaining three drawers.

Camille continued on her rant, "Apartments are expensive there and I'd have to be juggling an internship at Elle and senior year, how is that possible? I know they said they understood, but do they really? They usually hire college students when they're in the middle of their summer. There's only one month of summer left Miley!" Camille ran her fingers through her long, sleek, blonde hair.

Miley told Camille everyday that she was envious of her beauty and Camille simply turned bright red. Cami was a bit taller than Miley, with skinny legs that went on for miles and her facial features were so gentle and beautiful. Her smooth, white baby skin and long lashes. Her hair ran all the way down her mid-back, and her fashion sense was impeccable. No wonder Elle wanted her.

"Cami … shut up and grab your bags" Miley interrupted her; throwing her satchel and duffle over her two shoulders while grabbing both of her suitcases, one in each hand. Camille bit her lip and turned a soft shade of red. Miley sighed and set the two suitcases down, "Camille… we're doing this. We _need_ to."

The blonde stared at her best friend for a minute and then blinked twice before quickly shooting up from her seat on the twin bed. "Let's go" she spit out quickly, trying not to think about the consequences of their actions. The two girls quickly grabbed all the bags and suitcases they could carry and ran out to Miley's old, beat up, convertible. They threw all the bags they could in the trunk and the rest in the back two seats. Miley then quickly ran back up to kitchen to write her mom a note who was currently at the grocery store. Eli was at lacrosse practice and Miley would call him later that day. She had different plans for him.

_Dear Mom,_

__

You can't make this decision for me. I need to do this on my own. I'm going to California and Dad's going to sign the forms. I'm sorry, but you don't get a say in this.

_Love, Miley_

Camille honked the horn and Miley placed the note on the kitchen table. Without looking back, Miley ran out the door with a smile on her face. Jumping into the passenger seat, Camille took hold of the wheel and then turned to Miley. "Ready?" Camille bit her lip and half-smiled. In response, Miley screamed as loud as she could and threw her arms in the air, letting the wind wrap itself around her body as Camille hit the gas and sped down the road.

Squealing as the tires turned, the car sped away down the never ending dirt road. Sticking her head out the passenger seat window, she screamed as loud as her lungs would let her; her eyes smiling behind her black Ray Bans. "I can't believe we're doing this!" She was leaving, she was finally getting out.

And then her phone rang.

Well, these things weren't meant to last forever.

She was so tempted to throw the phone out the window and have Camille run it over with the car, but instead, she answered like the good girl she was.

"Hello?"

Camille side glanced over at her best friend as they continued down the road, nearing the main roads. "Miles, where are you? I'm at your front door step, Karlie's having some people over and invited us."

It was Austin.

"Austin…" she squeezed her eyes shut and bit her fist. Camille's eyes widened as they passed the town's diner and elementary school.

"What's up?" Austin could sense the pain in Miley's voice. "Do you not wanna go? Cause we could do something else… which brings us back to, where are you?"

Banging her head back against the headrest, Miley took a deep breath; "I'm not home…" she began.

Austin let out a small laugh, "I can see that."

"Austin, listen, I understand if you hate me. Actually, you have full right to hate me. It's just that I can't stay here anymore. It's like being in prison and just like you said I haven't been paying enough attention to you or what you've been saying. I've been out of it and I need to find myself … because it seems like everyone else has and I'm just straggling along…"

"Miley… where are you?" Austin cut her off.

"I'm going away. I'm sorry I couldn't say this in person, it's just I've been so in the moment…"

"Where are you Miley? Where are you going? Don't do this…" he begged.

Miley clenched her jaw, why did these things have to hurt? "I _have_ to Austin", there was pain in her voice, "You know I have to."

There was silence on the other end for a while. A minute passed, then another, it seemed like a decade had passed before she heard a long sigh come from him. "I know you do. I've seen it…"

"Then please let me go" Miley quickly cut in.

Over on Miley's front porch, Austin cradled his head in one hand with his cell phone pressed to his ear. "Why now, Miles?" Austin asked, "Why not in two years? When college rolls around?"

Miley's hair began to whip around her face as Camille pulled onto the highway. They were driving there. That's right, driving. If they were going to do this, they were going to take the long way, the right way.

"Because then it would be too late" Miley attempted to brush the hair out of her face and watched as the other cars sped by. "Right" Austin rolled his eyes and stood up, he walked to his car. "Well Miley, I would say I hope you have a lifetime of happiness, but I think we both know you won't last long away from here … you'll be back in a month and I won't be here waiting for you." And then the line went dead and it felt like Miley's heart did too. Did he really believe she wouldn't make it that long? She was planning on staying in California, for a long, long time. Miley clutched her phone in her hands and breathed deeply. No, she was not going back to that hell hole, no matter what Austin predicted.

They were just bored. Bored with the routine their whole life had settled into. Bored with the thoughts of growing old here and wasting their ever fading youth. So that's why they were doing it, they were letting go of all their inhibitions and deciding to not think, not think about the consequences.


	4. Four

_So make your siren's call_  
_And sing all you want_  
_I will not hear what you have to say_  
_Cause I need freedom now_  
_And I need to know how_  
_To live my life as it's meant to be_

It had taken days to get there, countless bathroom breaks and stops at fast food restaurants, but they made it… and boy, was it beautiful.

Miley was now driving with Camille asleep in the back seat. They were getting off the highway now with the sunrise in front of them. Miley was scared, the truth was, her dad had no clue the two of them were coming. It was kind of a 'spur of the moment' decision and she knew if she called her dad and sat down to talk to him about everything over the phone, she'd have second thoughts. Now if she had second thoughts, they would be in California, where it would be too late for her to do anything about them.

Camille stirred a bit in the backseat, mumbled something incoherent, and then fell back asleep. Miley held her breath during it all. She sort of hoped Camille would stay asleep a little longer, at least until she felt like herself again. But, truthfully, what was 'herself' nowadays? For the past few she hadn't been doing anything her normal self would.

She'd run away.

"I ran away" she said aloud. Wow, she thought, it was really hitting her now. It didn't feel like a dream anymore. Everything had happened so quickly before, it was all this rush of adrenaline and now she was finally registering everything in her mind. She really did it. She ran away. _She_, Miley Ray, had run away.

She focused back on the road once someone honked at her for drifting a bit. Camille woke up from the sound.

"We there?" she asked groggily. She stretched her arms over her head and then attempted to lift her long legs over the passenger seat, but ended up tangled and decided on just throwing her body over, landing with an "oomph."

"Yeah" Miley smiled, "we're here."

They pulled up the short driveway ten minutes later, now in view of the gorgeous house. It wasn't big like her home in South Carolina, and yet it wasn't small either. She hadn't been out to visit her dad here in California because her mom blamed him for leaving and destroying the family, thinking that if she and Eli saw him, they'd just get upset. Of course her mother was naïve, stupid, and completely wrong. It was her fault he left, entirely her fault.

The house was on the beach which didn't surprise her. Her father, Wesley, loved the ocean. During her parents' college years, they had taken the family on tons of road trips. Wesley entered surfing contests here and there meaning there was traveling involved.

That's when their family was happy. That's when they weren't broken.

She heard the front screen door before she saw him, "Miles?" his voice was strained, he sounded so confused.

She looked up at him, her eyes soaking in every inch of him from behind her Ray Bans. She had missed him. She had missed him so much that just looking at him now, her heart ached.

The smile on her face grew slowly, "Hi Dad."

"Miles? What are you-" he breathed out as he descended the front porch steps, "what are you doing here?" he finished.

Camille walked around the back of the car and popped open the trunk, "What are you talking about Wes? We've got our bags and we're here to party!" she teased while flashing her million dollar smile.

"Cam" Miley warned her, sending her daggers with her eyes even though she couldn't see them because they were shielded by the sunglasses. Camille gave her a funny look and then set her attention back onto pulling out their suitcases and bags.

"Miles, what's going on? Does your mom know you're here?" Wesley continued.

"Yeah…" Miley started, "Well kind of, I mean, not really" she attempted at explaining.

Camille dragged two suitcases next to her, let out a huge breath of air, swiped invisible sweat off her forehead and then swung her arm around Miley's shoulder.

"We're here to stay Wes, packed up and moved out of little out Atlantic Beach. We want bigger and better things and we knew we could count on you out here. So, I hope you're ready for a couple of teenage girls to invade your bachelor pad!"

Miley's stomach ached from Camille's forward words and everything around her began to spin, she wasn't used to this. Everything was happening so quickly. Just the other day she had a boyfriend and she was sitting at home in South Carolina obeying her mother's every wish.

Wesley stared at the two of the girls, at how Miley just stood there frozen while Camille hung on her like a monkey.

He sighed, already feeling the migraine coming on, "Let's grab these bags and get you two inside."

* * *

"East Valley Boarding School?" Wesley stared at her wide-eyed. "You came all the way out here to attend East Valley Boarding School?"

"Dad, you don't have to say the full name each and every time" Miley rolled her eyes.

"Sorry, just trying to process all of this" he shook his head as he stood up from the kitchen table and shuffled his way across the kitchen floor to get another cup of coffee.

"I know what you must be thinking, but I really thought about this, long and hard and I just need to be here, away from South Carolina and hard decisions like Austin and away from …" she paused, "Mom."

Wesley laughed a bit, "Oh I bet that's a sight to see right now" he shook his head as he brought the coffee mug to his lips.

Miley winced; she could only imagine all the messages on her phone waiting for her to listen to. She had turned her phone off a couple a days ago back when they were in Utah. Her inbox had become full from all the messages and the amount of voicemails was outrageous, she finally just turned it off, hoping it would help make it all go away.

Of course, it didn't. It would still all be there once she turned the phone back on.

"She's probably a mess right now" Wesley continued, "I mean, just imagine-"

"Yeah, I get it dad" Miley cut him off.

"Sorry" once again he apologized.

"No" Miley sighed, "I'm sorry" she really was. "I just poured all this on you and with all you're going through…" she paused, "I shouldn't of come here without telling you and to force you to sign these papers and go against mom and have to deal with all that. I'm sorry I didn't-"

It was his turn to cut her off. "Hey" Wesley placed his hand on her shoulder forcing her to look up at him. He smiled down at her, "This is nothing to be sorry about, ok? You wanted to get out" he nodded his head as if he understood, "I thought you'd be happy back there in South Carolina even though I sort of knew in the back of my head that you were a free bird. I guess I was wrong…" he walked away from her and over to the other side of the kitchen table where the papers rested.

"So..." he sat his coffee mug down and picked up a pen, "where do I sign?"  
****

**_

* * *

_**

The fan spun and sung a lullaby for the restless girl in bed. Tossing and turning, everything from the day caught up with her. Their voices whispered in her ears, scolding and yelling at her. So they really didn't want her to sleep? Toss right, toss left. She wished so badly for something to silence them, to make them go away. Close your eyes, take in a deep breath. Just keep breathing, that's all you need to focus on.

Her mom would forgive her, Eli would talk to her again and Austin… he'd find someone better, right?

She could hear waves crash right outside her window and Camille's snoring in her ear. School started in one month; she'd be with new people. _New_ _people_. She was in a new place. "New" was officially her favorite word. It had barely ever been used unless it was put before the words "top" or "lipgloss".

"New" was a new word.

You know when you say, think, or write one word so many times that it doesn't seem right anymore? New sounds so foreign, so weird now. Let's not overuse the new favorite word now. Fuck, did it again.

Miley turned to her side and looked at the clock next to her.

5:30 AM.

Rolling onto her back, she stared at the spinning fan. She was overtired, she knew it, but she wasn't going to fall back asleep. She just couldn't.

Slowly, she pulled back the covers on her side of the bed and walked toward her suitcase, there she grabbed a light sweatshirt, a pair of shorts and flip flops.

Changing out of her pajamas quickly, she made her way to the sliding door next to the dresser. As quietly as possible, she drew back the white, sheer curtains, unlocked the glass door, slid it open and then stepped out into the cool-air. The sun wasn't supposed to rise for another hour and a half. That's all the time she had to herself before people hit the beach… she was going to make the best of it.

Two sandcastles, one moat and a pile of seashells later, an hour had passed and she was now lying in the cool sand, staring at the settled sky. No sun, no moon, it was in between. This moment in time was not defined. In fact, it was _indefinable_.

She stared at the clear, morning sky and drifted away. Maybe she'd fall asleep and wake up with a tan, she thought to herself. She was just about to drift when she heard feet pounding down on the sand. When she opened her eyes and propped herself up on her elbows, her eyes were met with a delicious treat, a surfer.

The boy ran down the beach, past her without even looking and right into the water. It's like that's all he could see, all he could focus on, just him and the ocean.

She wished for a connection like that some day. Some day she'd feel so much love for something that she couldn't live without it, couldn't _breathe_ without it.

The boy dove into the waves and resurfaced in seconds with his board beneath him. Soon enough he was paddling deeper and deeper into the ocean. Guess he didn't know he had an audience.

He sat there for a while, just waiting for a wave. It was early and the sky was clear, the weather was nice and calm and the waves just didn't feel like cooperating. But, he sat there, patient as could be.

And Miley sat there too, watching him. She couldn't take her eyes off of him; it wasn't that he was hot or anything. Ok, he was, but it was just this calmness that surrounded him. He went where the waves went. So when one finally came, he flipped his board around, started to paddle and then…

It was a smooth ride in, like it was just him, the water, and his board.

He rode the wave out all the way to shore where Miley was waiting for him.

"Uh, hi" he smiled at her, curious as to why this girl was standing there… watching him. He picked up his board, ready to turn back around to catch another wave.

Miley just smiled at him.

He laughed nervously, "Can I help you with something?"

"What's your name?" she asked, curiously.

"Liam" he eyed her skeptically at her forwardness, "and you?"

"Miley" she smiled.

"So… Miley" he paused, "What can I do for ya?"

She stared at his board, "teach me how to surf."

* * *

**Alright, I know what all you Niley fans must be thinking, "Great, I read aaaall of this just to find out its a Miam story." But don't you worry. Both Nick and Liam are in this. Which one she goes for... oh, sorry, just gonna have to stick around and see cause guess what? This is my story :)**

**lovelovelove  
e**m**k**earse**xx **


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